MariusChamberlin

Thanks for the input guys. I'll give "diving in" a whirl and see how that goes. I have some themes sketched out, so I'll just go from bar 1 and write.

So I'm about to dive into my first full orchestra piece, and I'd like some ideas on how I should approach starting out the first draft. I'm not looking for orchestration advice, just answers to how you guys start writing for orchestra. What's your approach? Start with a piano reduction, go right at it, a combination, etc etc etc. Also, it's been a long time YC. Glad this place is still around. :)

And Phil, maybe you can answer this for me. What is it you like about modern music so much? I understand this might be something hard to put in words (after all, do we really know why we like what we like?), but try. I'm really curious, because I was being sincere when I said I can't understand what some people hear in music that is for example atonal, or especially in the case of music with extreme dissonance. If I listen to music like that I get a headache, and to me (and I'd think you'd agree for most people) the music comes off as being either random, or maddening. So what do you like about it? I don't mean this insultingly, I'm genuinely curious. Edit: Sorry for the double post. I completely forgot about the edit button. My bad guys. :headwall:

From a purely musical standpoint, I think a good portion of Pop-music is actually very good. The bone I have to pick with Pop is the emphasis it put's on non-musical things; appearance, ability to market the person...or to put it simply how "cool" they are. This is the standard by which the most wide-spread genre's "best" are chosen, and I think it's just disgusting. People who are fantastic musicians/composers are passed over because they don't fit the mold of today's "image". Some of my friends who like Pop have told me that there is no "mold", and that pop artists are always trying to be. And that's just it. That's what the mold is. It's an image where the musician becomes more of a trained monkey than anything; they get up on stage in the most ridiculous outfits (i.e. Lady Gaga, LMFAO) and sing a couple of songs, which are usually never written by them. The only redeeming quality is that they have rhythm, and they can sing, although in this modern age of auto-tune and other more subtle tuning technology, even THAT is sometimes not the case.

I'd have to disagree with you on that. For me personally, I've been exposed to a lot of modern music, especially not that I'm a conservatory student. And while I am by no means an expert, I wouldn't say it is my ignorance that causes me to dislike most modernist/avant garde styles; it's just the simple fact that I don't like them, for various reasons. A few of those reasons; I don't understand them, not from a theory perspective (although that is also true at times) but from a "logical listening" one. The "language" of modern music to me seems like gibberish. While a fan of modern music might say that such and such a piece sound beautiful, to me it is complete randomness, that for me seems to have no sense of logic or direction. I don't think it is my lack of knowledge that makes me dislike modern music, but my experience with it. For the most part, the modern music I've heard sounds like madness. There are exceptions of course, but on the whole it doesn't "click" with me. I think it's a valid point. I don't think people are presuming anything as you say. They listen to the music, and based on what they here make a guess on what could have inspired such music. As I said, for me the music sounds random and illogical, so I wonder whether the composer just wrote down random scribblings. Someone else might find the work to be logical, and I would probably ask them to explain, because truthfully I just simply don't understand a lot of modern music, in the sense that I don't understand how anyone could like that, or want to WRITE like that. I don't mean that offensively, I just mean that it's hard for me to see, or rather hear, the same things that modernist fans hear. A question I want to pose to you: I've never heard anyone say that an early Classical work seems illogical, or random (i.e. Haydn, Mozart, or farther back to Salieri, Vivaldi, etc.). However, we hear it all the time about new works. So is it because we haven't yet become adapted to the newer styles, or is it because the styles themselves are inherently "random"? Personally I would say that it is because modern Classical music, or more precisely the method of writing it, has shifted from putting the listener at the center to the composer. I only mean this somewhat literally; early music was built on a system of consonance over dissonance, tonality, and especially form. All these things are clearly recognizable, even to those who only have a minute knowledge of Classical music. However, newer music TENDS to focus on things that we hardly notice in music, and in some cases are impossible to notice, such as pieces written using a particular mathematical formula. Also, today the idea of "dissonance" among modernists has been obliterated. Everything is treated as a consonance, even such "obvious" dissonances as the m2.

So, back in my "younger years" I used to mess around in Garageband and similar programs, making film music. It started when my 7th grade reading class did a "movie" (if you could call it that...god it was so bad) of a book we had read, and I volunteered to do the music. Moving on from my life story, I've recently decided to get back into a more cinematic style. I just purchased EWQL Complete Composer's Collection, and I'm currently learning the ins and outs of the program. What I'd like to do is find independent/low-budget films that I could make music for. I'm a big fan of fan-films (no pun intended) and other low-budget films because they are often more creative and interesting than their Hollywood counterparts. So my question is, what can I do to try and get my name out there? Are there any sites dedicated to low-budget groups looking for composers? Basically, how do I get started with all of this?

I'd have to say Hans Zimmer is my all-time favorite. I'm not sure if this counts, but Martin O'Donnell (composer for Halo-Halo: Reach) is also a favorite of mine. I'm also starting to like Steve Jablonsky more and more. And of course John Williams is a favorite. Forgot to add Rachel Portman. I've only heard her work on "The Legend of Bagger Vance" but that score is incredible, and so I'd consider her a favorite.

Mostly just pop music for me. I don't think there are any pieces or songs of any other genre I wouldn't mind hearing often. But pop music to me is just SO monotonous, and between songs extremely homogenous. And it doesn't help that most pop stations play the same small selection of the latest releases over and over and over all day. :headwall:

So I'm unloading my books into my dorm, and I realize something. I have a LOT of Beethoven stuff. I mean, it's not secret to me or friends and family that I am OBSESSED with Beethoven, but I didn't realize just how much of my stuff is about him. So I thought I would share, and see if anyone else on here has their own composer "shrine".